How can I harvest fresh chicory all winter long?

Many vegetable gardeners cannot eat a large chicory harvest in time and prefer to harvest fresh small quantities. In this article we give you the tip for continuously enjoying fresh chicory! We also address a number of frequently asked questions.

Our golden tip for harvesting fresh chicory all winter long:

• Do you store the chicory stems at 1 to 2°C? Then you can keep them for months before they have to be thawed. This is not a problem for professional growers as they have the necessary cold stores, but it is not obvious for vegetable gardeners whose refrigerator is usually set to 4 to 6°C.
  
  
• Would you rather harvest a number of smaller portions of fresh chicory throughout the winter instead of one large yield? Then you can plant the chicory in various locations (for example in the conservatory, the cellar, the vegetable garden...) as long as they are in the dark and the temperature is between 5 and 16°C. At temperatures higher than 16°C the chicory will start to sprout. Because the chicory is planted in different places with different temperatures, they will also be ready for harvesting at different times. 
  
  
• In the greenhouse you can enjoy fresh chicory after three weeks, while outside it can take several months. Is frost predicted and are the chicory roots in the ground? Protect them with some hay so they are warm. Never use plastic because this prevents the carrots from 'breathing' and causes them to rot.

Why are the chicory roots cut off?

This is simple: because they would have an equal height for easier tending. In this way you will also be able to harvest more evenly distributed heads.

My chicory stems have green foliage, can I cut it off?

After harvesting, the chicory roots receive a two-week cold shock in the cold store to halt their growth. As soon as they are brought into the warmth, they will grow and start producing leaves. This is the green you see at the top of the carrot. You can cut off some of the foliage, but always leave 2 cm of it. If you remove too much foliage, the chicory will produce leaves on the side and you will not get a nice closed head. When opening the bag of chicory roots you may notice a 'smell'. This is because the foliage starts to rot away after the big temperature shock. Don't worry though, you can still grow a perfect head of chicory with this!

More tips for growing delicious chicory yourself? 👇

• Chicory: tasty and easy to grow yourself
• Chicory can be grown both indoors and outdoors
  
• Grow your own chicory
• Help, my chicory roots are rotten